The New House
by Ana Fluttersby
Summary: August Drabble Wars entry. What would you do if a ghost falls in love with your boyfriend; she ll even get in your bed. Moving out is not an option.
1. Chapter 1

**The New House**

**Disclaimer:** **Stephenie Meyer** owns my favorite universe to explore, but not this story.

**Author´s note:** As incredible as it may sound, this story started as a dream. A very terrified friend of mine dreamt what constitutes the base of this tale. I wrote it some eight… ten years ago? It was O.F., clearly, but as I started navigating Ffn, I decided to make it a B & E fic and posted it in Spanish. Now, I´m tweaking it a little (and translating it, of course) to fit the drabble mode.

As it seems to be my thing, most of the chapter will be rather tiny, though maybe not as tiny as this one, but from Friday to Sunday, they´ll come almost non-stop. There´ll be 94 chapters and an Epi. :)

I hope you enjoy.

* * *

**ò . ****Я**** . Ω . R . ó**

I want to thank **Christag Banners** for the lovely banner she made for this story, and** Breath-of-Twilight** for her beta voodoo; this would not be readable without her.

.::snogging Kelli::.

* * *

**1 . Ω .**

Leaving Arizona was just what Bella needed. She had an asshole for a boyfriend, whose only redeeming qualities were looking, and fucking, like a god; her and many others.

One could say she was in love, but she knew he was no reason to stay.

So, to the deep relief of her parents and friends, she left Jacob and went to London for two years.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

* * *

These are the other **August Drabble Wars stories**. Some will post soon, but all of them will start posting for sure on August 17.

You can find the links to the Drabble Wars Forum and Drabble Wars Community on my profile, there you can find the specific links to each story. .::shaking fist at Fanfiction net for not letting us post links here::.

_**Sticks and Stones**_** (Continued) by TrueEnglishRose **

"Sticks and stones may break our bones... but Bella will surely kill us." What happens when an overprotective father sends his innocent baby girl to a private self-defense course run by a gay man? Oh if he only knew what he was paying for! Edward and Jasper aren't the only ones who have something to teach, seems Bella does as well... the art of patience.

_**In Plain Sight**_** by MinaWritesSlash**

When Jasper finds out his sister is dead, he knows that there's more than meets the eye behind the events. With a degenerative eyesight condition, Jasper will try to uncover what really happened that stormy night, while at the same time trying to adapt to a world of darkness. Slash/Thriller/Angst

_**A Soldier's Heart**_** by Dawn Bowers **

This is letters, emails, and chat talk shared between a man and a woman. One's overseas fighting for our country and the other is here at home waiting patiently for their other half to come home soon. I'm going to leave you guessing which one is the service member. Please take your time and enjoy this story, as it holds a special place in my heart.

_**The Fixer**_** by Sway in the Moonlight **

They say nice guys finish last. Well, Edward Cullen's the ultimate "nice guy." So nice, in fact, that he's made a career of it.

**QueenOfThePack **

(Pending)

_**The New House**_** by Anabella Cullen P**

What would you do if a ghost fell in love with your boyfriend? Moving out is not an option.

_**The Experiments**_** by Mona Rider & TwiLighT7242**

In the late '80s, nestled in the Olympic peninsula, seven families in a small town named Forks, were blessed with twins. Eighteen years later, these teenagers aren't as ordinary as they once thought.

* * *

Also, I am participating in the **Mix and Match Contest**, I can´t tell you which one is mine as it is anonymous, but there are some fabulous stories there you most certainly will enjoy! Before you balk because it´s strictly non-canon, let me tell you, you won´t even mind it, they are so beautiful.

Let me tell you, too, about The countdowns that Breath-of-Twilight hosts.

**The countdowns **are where a bunch of authors get together and write for a holiday, then all together, they write one large collaboration. This year it is themed and readers will be guessing which theme each one shot fits into. It is a way for writers to have fun and readers to come together in one place, check out some new writing styles and hopefully find new writers to read that they may not have found otherwise.

** Links on my profile.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**2 . Ω .**

During the first year, she dedicated her time to studying and getting to know the city. The weather, unlike Phoenix´s, was cold and rainy. So she spent six entire months with the flu. After this adaptation period, the only malady she suffered was the occasional hangover.

When the second year started, Edward arrived. They became friends in an instant. Bella, happy to have an American to talk to, and him, simply happy to have met her because she fascinated him the moment he laid eyes on her holding a sign with his name at airport.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

**Author´s Note:**

**Don´t neglect to read the rest of the stories from the August drabble war! **

Remember that I am participating in the **Mix and Match Contest**, but I can´t tell you which one is mine as it is anonymous. Go read :)

Also, remember about **The countdowns** that **Breath-of-Twilight** (my amazing beta) hosts. You can participate as a reader or a writer! And certainly as both!

**Links on my profile :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**3 . Ω .**

Bella was thin, with brown hair and pale skin, with almond-shaped chocolate eyes. In contrast, she was temperamental, suspicious, sarcastic, and superstitious. She was Catholic, but she also believed in zodiacal signs, in ghosts, and in reincarnation. These characteristics, combined with her evident intelligence and the sensitivity she showed when faced with human problems, made her very interesting.

Edward was an atheist, he didn´t believe in anything; and he found it rather amusing that Bella prayed once in a while. He was a little naïve, of soft mannerisms, very tender and tolerant, but he could also be rather pragmatic and stubborn. He was tall, on the side of slim, but with very well defined muscles, white skin and bronze hair, and impossible green eyes that were big and innocent like a child´s.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

Oh, I forgot to mention, I´ll be changing my penname to **Ana Fluttersby** in September :D

Don´t forget to check the author interviews, people. They are a lot of fun!

_**Thanks for the reviews, alerts and faves! .::heart warmed::.**_


	4. Chapter 4

4 . Ω .

Bella continued to study with the same dedication, but London paled in comparison to Edward. She kept on wandering around the city, but now she did this to be with him. She took him to all her favorite places; and together, they discovered new ones. They were happy, in love, and it was obvious. But as it is usual in such cases, time flew by, and Bella had to head back to Arizona.

To say a proper goodbye they went to Italy for three wonderful days, during which they would have gained a couple of pounds each, given that the food was so good, if the sex hadn´t been better.

It was a very optimistic farewell. They never thought it was the end of all; they would miss each other, of course, but that's what the internet was for.


	5. Chapter 5

**5 . Ω .**

They skyped everyday. Sometimes they talked about quotidian things, other times, they tried to satisfy the incessant need they had for one another.

Slower than it was desired, the months passed.

In December, Edward arrived in Arizona with his pragmatic thoughts clouded by the emotion of seeing her again, and Bella waited for him with her stomach full of butterflies, and her head full of precautions.


	6. Chapter 6

Goooooood morning, everybody! Thirty Chapters for today. You like?

Many thanks for **Breath-of-Twilight** and **Christag Banners**.

And many more for **you** who read/Review/fav/alert this :)

Oh, right. **Stephenie** owns Twilight.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

**6 . Ω .**

The reunion was everything they had longed for; the year of absence allowed them to accumulate the passion time tends to kill.

"Bella… Bella… I missed you so much," Edward said as he held her face between both hands and looked into her eyes.

"Touch me. I need you to touch me." She grabbed his hands and led them to her breasts.

Edward exhaled a ragged sigh and kissed her vigorously.


	7. Chapter 7

**7 . Ω .**

To the dismay of her aunts, Bella and Edward moved in together in an exquisite little house with white floors and a red roof that fitted perfectly with their idea of "Home Sweet Home".

They started as if playing; buying furniture, embellishments, plants. Thinking where to place everything was an adventure.

It wasn´t easy to choose because they had tastes as different as those of a medieval and a renascence person, but they invented for themselves a very eclectic style where both of their worlds fitted rather well, without borders or warnings of any kind to distinguish what was his or hers.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

**Remember to check:**

In Plain Sight by MinaWritesSlash

A Soldier's Heart by Dawn Bowers

The Fixer by Sway in the Moonlight

QueenOfThePack (Pending)

The Experiments by Mona Rider & TwiLighT7242

The Mix n´Match Contest

The Countdowns

Links in my profile


	8. Chapter 8

**8 . Ω .**

They quickly got used to each other´s habits. Soon, they felt as if they had always lived together and their previous lives were someone else´s memories. But this, besides providing them with a level of intimacy and trust they never imagined possible, gave way to routine. And as common as mundane routine likely was in a vast amount of relationships, it was not a welcomed change, thus, domestic problems started to make themselves known.

By mid-summer the heat was at its highest. As early as eight in the morning it was impossible to walk down the street without sweating; the sun burned in at your skin as soon as it started rising in the sky, and recovered its mercy until five in the afternoon. To top it off, there was no water, again.


	9. Chapter 9

**9 . Ω .**

Thank God in a month they´d be out of there.

Every day there was a new predicament in that house: there was no water, the owner wanted to show it to a friend, or the neighbors made love at top volume at the most implausible hour possible.

This last affair was rather amusing during the first days, but the frequency became ridiculous. They could not eat or sleep without being serenaded; and when they had people over, the woman made her best performances.


	10. Chapter 10

**10 . Ω .**

It had been difficult to persuade Edward to move. They both liked the house, but while Bella found the inconveniences impossible to tolerate, he found them picturesque at most.

Finally, after relentless insistence, they started the search of a new place to live.

For weeks, they visited houses, old and new, small and big, near and far, without finding one that covered their needs. At last, they found an apartment located in a good zone that had a little yard and a good price.

It wasn´t new, the kitchen lacked cabinets, and the color of the floors was one Bella wouldn´t have selected had she had the choice. But, in general terms, it was comfortable and cozy. With a little love and paint, it would be perfect.

They rented it immediately.


	11. Chapter 11

**11 . Ω .**

Despite the fact that the contract of their current house wouldn´t expire for another month, Bella, who was completely OCD, decided to take advantage of the time to fix the apartment before they moved in.

As it turned out, it needed more than just love and paint.

It was necessary to re-sand the doors once they were painted, because they puffed up, proud of their new color. It was also necessary to change all the light switches, all the faucets, and one or two pipelines. In an ironic turn of events, the water pressure was so high that it ruined every pipe it coursed.

Soon, she found herself spending more money than predicted, but it would be worth it. Lots of water was better than none, right?


	12. Chapter 12

**12 . Ω .**

By the time they were moving their belongings from one house to another, Bella had everything perfectly organized, so she had nothing to worry about. Every single box, furniture and plant, even, was marked and classified. "Glasses: kitchen", "Night table: Main room", and so on. No one could possibly make mistakes.

Nevertheless, moving was harder than expected.

The workers were still painting, the kitchen was a mess, and one of the rooms turned out to be too small, so there was an extra bed in the middle of the living room keeping company with the already excessive number of furniture, decorative stuff, and plants residing there.


	13. Chapter 13

**13 . Ω .**

None of this sounded too stressful, it´s even expected to have a few setbacks when one changes houses. But for Bella, it was unbearable.

After a day such as that, anyone would have slept like a rock. So, with her head filled with organizing schemes, she fell asleep like the baby she had been 24 years before.

.

.

.

"If you don´t believe me, ask my dad, he owns this house," said the girl, starting to sound impatient.

"But, who are you?" asked Bella, more uneasy by the second.

"Victoria," she responded distracted. "Oh! Since we are now friends, I can confide in you. I like Edward!"


	14. Chapter 14

**14 . Ω .**

For hours, the girl had been explaining everything that had happened after she died when she fell down the stairs.

No one realized it until many hours had gone by.

She woke up to drink some water, and when she was returning to her room, her dog came to meet her devoutly. In the darkness, she only saw a shadow; and as she took a step back, she fell from the top step.

It happened so fast that she didn´t scream or feel any pain, just the initial surprise; she even tried laughing and calling the dog. It was then that she sensed something was wrong; her voice would not come out, no matter how hard she tried.

She stood up and very carefully walked up the stairs again. This time she could speak.

"You startled me, Riley!" she whispered.

The dog made a donut of itself and whimpered.

"I´m the one who should be angry," she told Riley, and at that time she dedicated a glance to the stairs to see how far she had fallen.


	15. Chapter 15

**15 . Ω .**

No, it wasn´t possible, she was certainly dreaming, having a nightmare. She was standing on the top of the stairs, looking down at herself laying face up, in a very improbable position.

"Mom? Mooooooooom! Mommaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!" she started calling softly, but the volume of her voice rose as her befuddlement turned to realization and then to terror.

Nobody came.

Victoria sat down and descended the stairs step by step. Her head buzzed with explanations of what was happening, each explanation became more convoluted and impossible than the last, but she was willing to accept anything, except this.

She was soon turning fourteen. Her birthday party would be the next Friday, and it had been extremely hard to convince her parents.

And James was going to ask her to be her girlfriend that day.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

I´m so happy you are enjoying this! Thanks for reviewing and favoring and following TNH!


	16. Chapter 16

**16 . Ω .**

Victoria remained seated beside her body, trying to touch it, but she could only feel a soft tingling sensation in her hand, as if it had fallen numb and blood had started to circulate again.

She walked around her house, without aim or goal, as if looking for something, blindly grasping the almost absolute darkness. Finally, she went up to her parent´s room. Certainly they would help her. Why hadn´t she considered that before? Well, her mom didn't seem to have heard her calling… but they might see her.

God, she hoped she didn´t spook them.


	17. Chapter 17

**17 . Ω .**

She approached her mom cautiously; touched her, and nothing; shook her a little, and then Irina opened her eyes, saw her without seeing her and went back to sleep.

"Mom? Mommy? Mommy, wake up, please!"

Nothing happened, same thing with her dad.

Desperate, not knowing what to do, she went back to her body and waited patiently for someone to appear.

The wait was long, and as she did, she frequently touched her body. Each time the tingling was less intense. At one time she tried going back inside her body, thinking maybe that would work.

Of course! How silly, she could not move because she was prowling around the house!

The sensation was horrible; she could not see, feel, speak or move; she felt claustrophobic.


	18. Chapter 18

**18 . Ω .**

When daylight came, it brought aunt Bree who upon looking at her, made the sign of the cross, covered her mouth for a second, and started to cry and scream for Laurent and Irina.

Frightened, Irina left her room.

"Bree, what´s going on? What are you scre—?"

She stopped at the top of the stairs, looking at her daughter with an expression of the most absolute incomprehension. She turned towards Bree, who sobbed hysterically, and then back to Victoria, motionless, with her blue eyes open, empty.

She understood then that her daughter was dead. She descended with no awareness of moving her feet; she gathered her child in her arms and rocked her back and forth.

What was wrong with her? Why didn´t she speak? Why couldn´t she release the screams she had in her throat? Her eyes and her palate hurt as if they were filling with boiling liquid, as an ice-cold emotion compressed her chest and stomach.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

Um… yeah.

What do you think?


	19. Chapter 19

**19 . Ω .**

"Victoria! Oh, God, Irina, what´s this?" asked Laurent. "Move, Irina! Bree, don´t just stand there! Call an ambulance! Victoria? Talk to me, baby girl… what happened to you?"

But he also knew it was too late, that his little girl was cold and hard as marble, that her eyes were vacant, that there was nothing to do. Then he did cry, and scream, and curse God, his creation and himself, because he could do nothing, he was impotent before this reality that was destroying his life and his will to live it.

"Victoria, Victoria…" he chanted for only her name made any sense, if he stopped uttering it the world would end. Because then she would be really dead, and he could not allow that.


	20. Chapter 20

**20 . Ω .**

The following days were, as it was to be expected, chaotic.

No one missed her wake. All of her parents´ friends, her neighbors, her school, her friends, and James came.

It was like a mute, black and white movie; with the same graphic quality, a little fast to be real, and silent, but perfectly eloquent.

After the respective rituals, when the house contained a reduced number of people again, Victoria was still there, incapable of communicating with her parents, and in consequence of consoling them.

She was trapped. On various occasions, she had tried leaving the house, but she couldn´t. She reached the gate, went out, and lost consciousness. The most perturbing thing was that she would wake up in the same place and position her body had been for hours after the accident.


	21. Chapter 21

**21 . Ω .**

Victoria followed her mother around the house to avoid feeling lonely, but it was very hard seeing her.

Irina didn´t speak, only cried. Without sobbing, the tears poured constantly down her face.

Her father started smoking again, by his own admission, it wasn´t worth it to mind his health anymore. He spent his hours locked in his office, forgoing food and daylight. He only left to join his wife in bed to sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

**22 . Ω .**

Victoria soon got bored with this routine. She wasn´t hungry, but missed the taste of food and sweets. She couldn´t play with Riley, and she missed her friends. Victoria missed Jessica the most. Jess came every day to spend some time with her mother, but seeing her and not being able to talk with her was almost worst than not seeing her at all.

She spent hours in her room. Being surrounded by her personal belongings gave her some sense of normality. It was maybe in one of those moments that her parents decided to move out.


	23. Chapter 23

**23 . Ω .**

Suddenly, they packed everything and left. Not even the day she died did she feel so desperate. She´d be left alone and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She cried, and yelled, and tried to physically stop them. It was then she realized that if she really wanted to, if she focused, she could… touch.


	24. Chapter 24

**24 . Ω .**

Victoria tried everything.

She pulled aunt Bree´s sleeve, and the poor woman almost died of fear, leaving the room screaming and finally sitting down to just cry. She caressed her mom´s hair while begging her not to leave her. Please, what was going to be of her now? To which Irina only cried harder, covering her face with her hands.

Soon every person that came to help packing left with a story to tell.

She made me stumble.

I heard her crying.

I could swear Victoria is haunting that house. I can´t come back.

Victoria tried everything, but they left, and she was now alone.


	25. Chapter 25

**25 . Ω .**

Everything changed. Without the quotidian comes-and-goes of a household, Victoria´s world started to lose context. She entered some kind of lethargy, colors lost intensity and time passed in a weird way. She didn´t need anything. It was like when one is asleep and ambience sounds get mixed with those of you dreams. She awoke sometimes, but she could not muster anything but indifference towards her environment, so she slumbered again.

That is, until the time she opened her eyes and saw James.

Only, it wasn't James, it was Edward.


	26. Chapter 26

**26 . Ω .**

Bella woke up anguished. That had been one of the weirdest and most macabre dreams she had had in her life. She reflected a little on it, holding on to reason, but just in case, she prayed one Our Father and went back to sleep.

The dream continued, and it was so vivid that she often woke up expecting to see Victoria sitting on her bed, watching her, awaiting some kind of answer.

The whole night transpired like that.

During breakfast, slightly more at ease because daylight made it obvious it had been just a bad dream, she told Edward, who found it hilarious that she could be worried by such a silly thing.


	27. Chapter 27

**27 . Ω .**

Days later, she still surprised herself thinking about Victoria, the details wouldn´t diffuse, as it normally occurs with dreams, au contraire, she could feel her close at times, she felt observed, even when she was not alone.

Why dream something like that on her first night there?

She didn´t want to corroborate facts for three reasons: Fear of ridicule, cowardice, and compassion.

What if it was true? Certainly Laurent wouldn´t want to know his daughter had not found rest yet.

After a few weeks passed, Bella forgot all about it. Work consumed her, and she tried to balance her social and domestic life, which often collided, as Edward often invited friends over for dinner.

It was a propos of one of these dinners that they had their first fight in the new place.


	28. Chapter 28

**28 . Ω .**

Bella´s day had been exhausting; the interminable meetings had been the easy part. The real torture has been lunch with the new office acquisition. It was not that she disliked her, but they really had nothing in common. So the two hours the meal lasted were spent in frustrated attempts to establish a normal conversation.

As a result, she arrived home longing for a bath, wanting to have her wicked way with Edward, then read a little and sleep. Instead, she found five people, pleased as punch, drinking her very expensive wine bottle she had reserved for a special occasion.

She kindly entertained everybody, and Edward prepared dinner, as was their custom. They ate, talked, and everybody had a great time. Everybody, except Bella.


	29. Chapter 29

**29 . Ω .**

When their guests left, she stopped pretending.

How was it possible that he hadn´t had the decency to ask her if she felt like inviting people over? Did he even stop for a minute to consider the possibility that she might have been tired, or had other plans? And don´t let her start on the wine! Weren´t there at least ten bottles of wine in the kitchen?

In complete confusion, Edward answered that he had no idea those things would upset her so much. That, of course, was not the right reply, and the fight lasted for hours.

That very night the real nightmare began.

In the middle of the night, Edward awoke to Bella kissing him in a very unusual manner, but very passionately. Thinking she wanted to make up, he was not going to deny her. He shifted and kissed her back. Bella, also thinking it was a truce, surrendered.


	30. Chapter 30

**30 . Ω .**

"You should wake me up like that more often," he said sweetly during breakfast.

"Me? I didn´t wake you, you woke me," she replied mockingly.

"Yes, you! Who else could it be? That little girl you dreamt with? Come to think about it, at first you were kissing me differently."

Edward thought he was making a joke, but Bella blanched. "What do you mean differently? And why are you mentioning Victoria now? That nightmare was months ago!

"Victoria?" he asked perplexed.

"That was her name," she answer nervously, immediately feeling surrounded by the dream´s atmosphere. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…" she started praying, but Edward teased her and asked her to calm down, asserting that she was acting crazy.


	31. Chapter 31

**31 . Ω .**

Bella could not concentrate on work, and at the end of the day, for the first time ever, she left pending stuff in her office. She called Edward and proposed going to the movies. There really wasn´t a movie she wanted to see, but she didn´t want to go home.

She knew she was being irrational, but she was scared and didn´t want to confess it.

After the movie, they went for a couple of beers, ran into some friends, and stayed until they kicked them out of the place. She was very thankful they didn´t have to work the next day.

She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, but when she woke up needing to go to the bathroom, she had to ask Edward to go with her because she could not bring herself to go alone.


	32. Chapter 32

**32 . Ω .**

Edward woke up first and made lunch, because it was well past breakfast time. When he entered their bedroom holding a tray with their food, he found Bella sitting on the bed with a spooked face.

"I know you think I´m crazy, but I swear I´m not," she said, evidently nervous.

"I don´t think you are crazy, what happened?" he asked, worried.

She had seen Victoria again. It had been brief, she had only asked if Edward had liked her kisses, but it was enough to terrorize her. Bella was now convinced that they were not dreams, but apparitions.

Bella seemed so distraught that Edward dared not mock her, he limited himself to planting a kiss on her forehead and offering rational explanations of what could have happened.


	33. Chapter 33

**33 . Ω .**

He reckoned she had been predisposed by his inopportune comment during the day before; the more he thought of it, the more he was convinced that was it.

He needed her to calm down; he couldn't stand seeing her like that.

With some difficulty, Bella calmed down.

They had lunch and decided to go shopping for plants. They spent a nice afternoon amongst lush ferns and aromatic lilies; the only upsetting thing was a couple of bees as annoying as flies.

They returned home with a truckload of plants for their garden, without more concerns than looking for the perfect place for each acquisition.

They decided to first take a scented, romantic bath with candles and white wine.


	34. Chapter 34

**34 . Ω .**

Feeling him moving inside her was the best cure for any concerns she might still have. She was enjoying his pleasure almost more than her own; his face during orgasm was the most beautiful thing she had seen so far.

They were still entangled when the phone rang. Edward got out of the tub to answer and when he came back he found "I love you, Edward" written in the fogged mirror wall.

"I love you, too," he murmured while giving her a tender kiss on the lips. "I like it when you turn all mushy and romantic."

"What are talking about?" she asked, playfully splashing him with water.

Edward pointed to the mirror, and Bella, the instant she saw it, jumped out of the tub claiming she hadn´t written that.

"Can´t you tell that´s not my handwriting?"

They got dressed in silence; Edward, worried because it was obvious she was not joking, and Bella, very aware that he didn´t believe her.


	35. Chapter 35

**35 . Ω .**

Every day, something different happened: Things got moved, someone blew in her ear, a spoon and a small stone were thrown towards her, her IPod started playing on its own. And it only happened to her.

She felt like she was going insane, and of course this time, Edward didn´t want to hear about moving.

Didn´t she remember how hard it had been to find a place? Besides, they had spent a lot of money already on this apartment.

Then there were the bits that just didn't add up. Such as, how come Victoria was haunting her, if said ghost-girl had a crush on him?

In that, Edward had a point.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

**So, this is it for today! 30 more tomorrow ;)**

**Remember to check:**

In Plain Sight by MinaWritesSlash

A Soldier's Heart by Dawn Bowers

The Fixer by Sway in the Moonlight

QueenOfThePack (Pending)

The Experiments by Mona Rider & TwiLighT7242

The Mix n´Match Contest

The Countdowns

_**Links in my profile **_

**. Ω .**

Multiple _thank yous_ for my adorable beta, Breath-of-Twilight,

and for Christag Banners for the lovely banner (check it on my fb).

Thank you, readers; this is, after all, for you.


	36. Chapter 36

Good Morning! Thirty more chapters for today :), people.

Breath-of-Twilight and Christag Banners, thank you, girls!

Stephenie owns Twilight, I swear!

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

**36 . Ω .**

Bella gathered her courage and asked Laurent. It was one of the hardest, shortest, and most awkward conversations she had ever had.

Yea, they had a child named Victoria, and she had died fifteen years back, a tragedy. His wife had not spoken for months after the accident. But he didn´t want to talk about it anymore, it was too painful.

Comforted, because at least she was not insane, she decided to embark on a meticulous search of ghost apparitions, haunted houses, and such cases. She started with the priest at the local church, then their neighbors, and even mystery and terror movies, then moving onto the internet and any and all paranormal books and articles she could find.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

Thanks for the reviews!

.::happy goofy grin::.

**Remember to check:**

In Plain Sight by MinaWritesSlash

A Soldier's Heart by Dawn Bowers

The Fixer by Sway in the Moonlight

QueenOfThePack (Pending)

The Experiments by Mona Rider & TwiLighT7242

The interviews with this months´ authors

The Mix n´ Match Contest

The Countdowns

**Links in my profile**


	37. Chapter 37

**37 . Ω .**

The investigative spirit in her that made her so good at her job, also made Bella dedicate herself to reading multiple documents, mainly from the internet, about what ghosts were. However, without exception, she was disappointed by the vagueness or plain stupidity of it all.

With the same diligence, she planned a party to which all of her neighbors would be invited. She harbored the hope that some of them had lived there during the time Victoria and her family passed such a bitter experience.

Edward, even if he could not explain how Bella knew everything about Laurent´s daughter, argued that maybe she had heard her name somewhere and it had stuck with her. Nothing really convincing, but he would not lay down his arms. He was in rotund disagreement with Bella´s reason to throw the party, and even more with masquerading it as a get-to-know-you party.

Bella didn´t care. In the end, it was her who was being tormented by Victoria, as he had so clearly pointed out.


	38. Chapter 38

**38 . Ω .**

Pictures, videos, and music from the late 90´s, plus hor d'oeuvres and lots of alcohol were part of her plan.

She wanted everything to be as perfect as possible. Two of her guests had known Victoria. One was Jessica, who had lived there for over twenty years, and had been Victoria´s best friend, the other was Jessica´s husband, James.

Bella could not believe it.

James was a friend of Mike´s, Jessica´s older brother. Upon meeting them, he had fallen in love with Victoria, and of course, in classic, insecure teenage fashion, it had taken him a year of affirmations and proofs of his reciprocated feelings to decide to ask her to become his girlfriend. Unfortunately, Victoria died four days before the date he had intended to do it.


	39. Chapter 39

**39 . Ω .**

The pain of losing Victoria brought them together. They understood how pedestrian that argument sounded, but it was simply the truth. Outside of her parents, nobody missed Victoria more than them. They became best friends. They did everything together, spoke on the phone for hours, confided their secrets to each other, and naturally, they talked about Victoria.

For the first couple of years, they cultivated a beautiful friendship, but when they finished high school, Jessica went to France to study gastronomy and little by little they lost contact. They found each other again by chance after Jessica had been back almost a year. They talked as if time had not passed, for hours, completely ignoring the expressions of jealousy and reproach on their respective partners´ faces.

One and a half years later, they were engaged.


	40. Chapter 40

40 . Ω .

Despite the fact that their story was very sweet, Bella was more interested in knowing if they had ever heard anything about her house being haunted. It was a very hard to introduce such a subject, because the risk of being obvious and sounding like one who belongs in a madhouse was overwhelming.

When someone asked about her DVD collection, Bella grasped the opportunity to introduce the subject that interested her the most.

"I have no idea how Edward can stand to watch these movies," she said, referring to the horror movie lot. "They terrify me! I have to cover my ears and close my eyes half the time!"

Edward, who´d much rather watch action movies, looked at her, speechless.

Nevertheless, the result was the one she expected. Everyone had something to say. First, they tirelessly commented on the movies, but gradually, they started talking about more personal anecdotes.

Almost everybody had been spooked or knew someone who "would never lie about something like that" who had been exposed to something related to paranormal activity.


	41. Chapter 41

**41 . Ω .**

Their stories were rather blood-curling.

Peter told that in the house where he lived before, every night someone wetted her daughter; at first they thought she was peeing her bed, but the absence of the characteristic smell revealed it was water. They soon discovered that a little girl had died in that house. The mother had left her children with the babysitter because she had to work, and the babysitter accidentally dropped the little girl while giving her a bath, thinking she had killed her, she tucked her in bed, set the house on fire and took the older boy to the nearby park. The ghost of the girl poured water on Peter´s daughter each night to keep her from burning.

Horrifying and depressing.


	42. Chapter 42

**42 . Ω .**

Kate said that, at her aunt´s house, she had seen a woman sitting at her aunt´s vanity table, leisurely brushing her white hair. When she asked her aunt about whom the lady in her room was she discovered there was nobody else in the house. Later, her aunt showed her an old picture asking if that was the woman she had seen. It was her great-grandmother.

Claire swore that when she was eighteen, she had slept over a friend´s house and that when she woke up at midnight there had been a white-as-light man, furtively peeking from the bathroom door. When she commented on it during breakfast, her friend´s mother, who liked dabbling in spiritism, told her that she had already seen him near her before, as well. She had refrained from telling anyone because she was sure he didn´t want to frightened her, that she shouldn´t be worried because he was looking after her. She never saw him again.


	43. Chapter 43

**43 . Ω .**

Finally, after many similar stories, Bella got what she wanted when Jessica, with a tremulous voice, said:

"Victoria is still here…

"For the love of God, Jessica! You are drunk, please don´t start with that! Do you want to spook away Bella and Edward?" James exclaimed.

"Yes, I´m drunk! But, what? You think they don´t know yet?" she asked as she turned towards Bella. "You´re going to tell me you haven´t felt her? Why the curiosity with the subject, then?"

Bella nodded slowly but kept quiet to encourage Jessica to continue, but James decided it was time to leave; it was late and they had to get up early to fulfill their promise to their daughter to take her to the zoo.

Feeling like the Sultan from One Thousand and One Nights she was left eager for more stories as she said goodnight to her neighbors.


	44. Chapter 44

**44 . Ω .**

After Jessica and James left, everybody decided to leave, too. They certainly had very nice and rather normal neighbors; it had been a nice evening. Even Edward, who had been so opposed to it, ended up having a good time.

For Bella, the best part had been finding a great source of information. She was sure Jessica would tell her everything she needed to know.

She went to bed tipsy, but at peace.


	45. Chapter 45

**45 . Ω .**

Later that night, Bella woke up to the sound of Edward moaning in his dreams, and she noticed he was grabbing the sheets in his fists and his head was thrown back.

"Bella… yesss…" he whispered.

Bella´s body reacted instantly, and she threw herself at him, kissing his shoulders and sliding a hand towards his erection.

"Edward, wake up, love."

"Oh, I´m awake…" he groaned as his hands let go of the tortured sheets and sought Bella.

His transparent need and the urgency of his sounds contrasting with the softness with which his lips moved on her throat and breasts was more than enough enough foreplay.

They made lithe and intense love.

Just before falling asleep, Edward murmured against her neck. "You drive me crazy when you take me into your mouth."

Bella froze. She had not done that to him that night.


	46. Chapter 46

**46 . Ω .**

"What do you suppose you´ll do with whatever Jessica tells you?"

"What do you want from me, Victoria? You want me to leave Edward? Not only are you dead, you were a child when you died, what do you suppose you´ll do with him?"

"What a lack of imagination you have, Bella! And I´m not a child. As you say, I´m dead. I need a body to be a child." She sighed dramatically. "I´m not evil; I just don´t want to be alone anymore."

"Are you trying to stir my sympathy? You are making me insane! Have you considered that it´s more likely for Edward to have me committed than to believe in your existence? He doesn´t believe in God, let alone in Casper the Horny Ghost. That won´t change no matter how much oral sex you give him while he sleeps. He still thought it was me!


	47. Chapter 47

**47 . Ω .**

"You know? I don´t know if I believe in God or not, but here I am… besides, I have no idea why you are complaining. It worked in your favor, as you say."

"I pity you. How is it that a fourteen year old girl has a mind like yours?" Bella exclaimed.

Victoria chuckled. "Fourteen years…" she huffed. "You´d be surprised what you can learn in my… ehem… state… I have more plans for Edward, and they won´t always benefit you."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Hmm…"


	48. Chapter 48

**48 . Ω .**

It was five thirty in the afternoon, and Bella knew that James would get home in an hour; she needed to make the most of that time. Jessica greeted her warmly, showed her her house, and introduced Bella to her daughter, who was happily playing with a tiny dog.

"I´m so embarrassed at how drunk I was the other day. I didn´t mean to make you nervous.

"Don´t worry about it, that´s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yorkie is the grandson of Victoria´s dog?" Jessica said, pointing vaguely to in the direction where her daughter played with dog.

"Riley´s?"

"How do you know her dog´s name?" asked Jessica in a thin voice.

"Victoria told me."


	49. Chapter 49

**49 . Ω .**

Jessica looked at her with watery eyes and invited to sit in the terrace.

She had always heard stories about Victoria´s ghost. People said they could hear her crying and wrecking stuff… like pipes. But that was not what Jess meant when she said Victoria was still in the house.

What Jessica felt, every time she passed by the house, was a soft presence, though lately it was rather turbulent. She asked Bella to tell her what she had been through and listened attentively. She was about to show her some pictures when James called saying he was on his way.

They said goodbye and accorded to meet the next day.


	50. Chapter 50

**50 . Ω .**

Bella knew Jessica hadn´t told her half of what she thought or knew about the case, but she could be patient. She was willing to help Victoria, and for that she would need Jessica´s help.

She thought she might ask for Father Liam´s help, but she was not sure of his reaction. It had been about a million years since she last went to mass and the priest was not too lenient with his undisciplined sheep. Last time she tried having communion, he left her with her mouth open, vainly expecting the host because she had not been to confession.

She would have to restart going to mass. It couldn´t hurt; besides it would be worth it just to see Edward´s face. Nonbeliever!


	51. Chapter 51

**51 . Ω .**

"I´ve dreamt of Victoria, too," Jessica confessed. "I had never told anyone but James. I thought it was my guilt over marrying him.

"What has she told you?" Bella asked, but continued before getting and answer. "She told me she could not get out of the house."

"She can´t get out of the complex, but she can get out of the house. I think it´s just she doesn´t like it.

For a year, Jessica dreamt of Victoria every night.

At the beginning, they were severe nightmares in which Victoria reproached her marriage with James, calling her a traitor and a horrible friend. That´s the reason she named her daughter Angela and not Victoria, as she would have liked.

All of that changed. Soon, they talked like they used to when both were young girls. Victoria was utterly uninterested in James; the few years that had passed had not been kind to him and he was unrecognizable. He put on some weight and lost a bit of hair. So James stopped being a subject between them.

After a while, the dreams diminished and then, simply stopped.


	52. Chapter 52

**52 . Ω .**

Bella was trying to reconcile what Victoria told her with what Jessica was saying. Victoria had said that she had been dormant until Edward arrived, almost lingering in a tranquil-like state. Jessica, however, said the exact opposite. Victoria might have been lying, though. Spirits lied, right? Jess and Bella discussed all that, but reached no definitive conclusion.

Looking at the pictures Jessica showed her, she could see a slight resemblance between Edward and the James from fifteen years back, especially the green eyes and pale skin, but nothing past that, but she could see Victoria confusing them for a second. Victoria´s image shocked her a lot. There it was, among a sea of red locks, the same face of her visions. White, well defined eyebrows, straight nose, pouty lips and deep, big, and blue eyes fringed by thick, copper eyelashes, which appeared to be looking at her with familiar mischief.


	53. Chapter 53

**53 . Ω .**

"Eeeeevening!" greeted James from the door, making them change subject automatically. "Bella! How are you? I hope this woman is not talking about ghosts again."

"Not at all. We were planning an excursion to the Grand Canyon; enjoy the Skywalk and stuff, well, when we have some time, that is. What do you think?"

"Why not Biosphere 2? It´s kind of embarrassing but I´m acrophobic, Bella," said James, looking intently at his wife, smelling the lie.


	54. Chapter 54

**54 . Ω .**

As Bella said goodbye to Jessica, she was also thinking it might rain, because the wind was blowing strong, cold and humid, rocking the trees back and forth, making them sing in choir with the crickets.

She was walking through the yard towards her house when she saw Victoria, standing on the doorstep, arms crossed over her chest. It was only for an instant, but the expression of hate on her face paralyzed her more that the fright of seeing while awake.

She was used to Victoria by now, she was more curious that afraid of her even, because she thought it was pretty innocuous to dream —well, except when she molested Edward—, and her poltergeist behavior didn´t transcend moving stuff around. But, seeing her like that had the capacity of bringing all the panic of the first days back.


	55. Chapter 55

**55 . Ω .**

Bella ran back to Jessica´s house, knocked on the door and waited, fighting her need to cry. When Jessica opened the door, Bella pulled her outside.

"I saw her! Standing by my door, looking at me as if she hates me! How am I gonna go into my house? Edward doesn´t even believe me, no one believes me! How do I go back there now?" blubbered Bella hysterically.

"Shh… Bella, calm down. I believe you and you know it. Do not freak out on me now. Come on, I´ll stay with you until Edward comes home," she offered kindly and turned to holler into her house. "James! I´ll be right back, I´m going over to Bella´s place."


	56. Chapter 56

**56 . Ω .**

Sitting in the living room, Bella cried inconsolably as Jessica prepared chamomile tea in the kitchen.

She knew she needed to calm down; nothing could be gained from her tears. Besides, what would she tell Edward when he found her with hamburger eyes?

She wondered what to do about Victoria. She could not just wait listlessly. She was losing control of her life. She could barely manage to concentrate on work, because if she wasn´t researching paranormal things, she was thinking about Victoria. She had grown somehow distant toward Edward, who not only didn´t believe her obsession, he didn´t even perceive it since she had stopped talking about it with him.


	57. Chapter 57

**57 . Ω .**

Jessica returned to the living room with three cups of tea, and Bella drank hers slowly, savoring the sweetness of the honey and taking deep breaths in between sips. She reclined on the sofa and allowed Jessica to place the teabags on her eyes to help prevent the swelling.

"What am I gonna do, Jess?"

"I´m thinking, but nothing comes to mind. It´s not like we can go to church and ask the priest to come and evict her."Well, maybe not evict her, but he could help her move to the light and the great beyond, or wherever dead people should go," she huffed, only half joking.

They would have laughed if they weren´t feeling so tense.


	58. Chapter 58

**58 . Ω .**

A small storm had begun; the sound of the rain was deafening and thunderous booms could be heard so close that each blast made them jump. It was a bad day to rain like that.

Bella was edgy, she didn´t understand why Victoria had looked at her that way; she only wanted to help her, after all. Jessica couldn´t explain such animadversion, either.

They decided to talk to a priest; they didn´t know what else to do, it was not a situation they expected to go through. They could easily imagine how ridiculous they would sound: "Father, there is a ghost in my house." No way around it, though. Catholic Church was supposed to be an expert in these matters, what would be hard would be to be believed.


	59. Chapter 59

**59 . Ω .**

When Edward got home, Bella pretended to have a headache to get out of explaining things. As the rain wasn´t abating, Jessica stayed for a while small-talking with Edward, but it was getting late and she finally left protected from the rain by a flashy beach umbrella.

Edward told her about her day at the office, routine, nothing exciting in his day. He asked her about hers. She had to go to California, but not until the next week.

How long would she have to pretend? If only he believed her, it would be easier for her. She felt like crying again. She was kind of disconcerted by that, she just was not like that.


	60. Chapter 60

**60 . Ω .**

It took Bella a long time to fall asleep. She listened to Edward snore peacefully as she laid there, insomniac, with eyes shut tight against undesired images, brimming with conflicted emotions and confused thoughts.

She was feeling completely vulnerable and emotionally dependent of Edward, and that made her feel lonely because the biggest issue she had now, she couldn´t share with him. At moments, she was so resentful that she considered going for a while to her parents´ and leave Edward to deal with Victoria; she could eat him alive for all she cared. Except, she could not breath right at the mere thought of being without him.


	61. Chapter 61

**61 . Ω .**

"You did that on purpose!" Victoria screeched. "I hate You!"

"What did I do? Are you insane? I haven´t done anything! And what´s with the dirty looks?

"Now you´ll tell me you don´t know," Victoria huffed. "By all means, continue to pretend, you should be an expert by now!"

"I have no idea what you´re talking about. Leave me alone. Cross over or something! This isn´t your home anymore. It´s mine!


	62. Chapter 62

**62 . Ω .**

On their way to church, she told Jessica about her latest dream. Neither of them understood what she could possibly have meant. Was Victoria angry that they had become friends? That might make a little sense; Victoria had been a jealous friend. Who knew, it could be anything.

It continued to rain an entire ocean. At least it wasn´t hot. They couldn´t find a parking space near the entrance so they ran with the useless hope of not getting too drenched. Soaked to the bones, they attended mass with more devotion than Mother Teresa, but not daring to take communion without confessing first.

At the end, they went looking for the priest.


	63. Chapter 63

**63 . Ω .**

"Bella! It has been centuries!" Father Liam reproached her fondly.

"Father, how are you? Let me introduce you to my friend Jessica Stanley."

"Nice to meet you, Father."

"Likewise, Ms. Stanley."

"Father, we were wondering if we could take you to lunch," said Bella, smiling.

Lunch with Father Liam was a complete waste of time. He looked at them as if they were discussing the weather and told them those were spiritual insecurities born from their estrangement from God, that they should attend mass more often and pray every morning and night as a good catholic, and then they'd see how they´d stop thinking nonsense.

Bella returned home feeling lonelier than ever, but willing to face whatever came. She had decided to start going to mass, anyways, and she already prayed. Who knew? There might be something to Father Liam´s words.


	64. Chapter 64

**64 . Ω .**

It was a beautiful morning; the clouds had surrendered the scenery to the sun that shined lazily, giving the impression to be earlier. Everything was wet, and the scents from the garden were green, fresh, and sweet like a rose, basil, and spearmint bouquet. Birds flew and sang happily from branch to branch, and Bella was enjoying nature while cutting flowers and leaves for the dining room table´s vase when Edward walked up to her holding two glasses of orange juice.

"Let´s get married, Bella," he said out of nowhere. She just looked at him, mute with surprise. "I´ve been thinking about it for days, I really want to marry you, I can´t think of living without you. Ever. So… marry me. You´d make me the happiest man alive, and as a bonus, your family would be happy, too. What do you think?

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

Really, Edward, that´s your marriage proposal? .::shakes head::.

Ok, one more to go for today.


	65. Chapter 65

**65 . Ω .**

Bella gave him back the glass with juice and ran towards the house, covering her mouth with her hand.

That might not have been the most romantic proposal in the world, but it did not warrant vomiting. She must have been nervous.

Edward found her brushing her teeth with more focus than needed. He looked at her with hurt eyes while waiting for her to finish and say something, anything, even no. Bella took her time, but finally she turned around, looked into his eyes, and hugged him.

"I hadn´t thought about it, but now that you ask, I see you are right. It would make me happy, too."

"Really?" he asked, relieved.

"Really."

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

I wonder if Victoria´ll be happy for them…

Loving the reviews :) Thanks you very much!

See you tomorrow for the last 29 chapters and Epilogue

**Again, remember to check:**

In Plain Sight by MinaWritesSlash

A Soldier's Heart by Dawn Bowers

The Fixer by Sway in the Moonlight

QueenOfThePack (Pending)

The Experiments by Mona Rider & TwiLighT7242

The interviews with this months´ authors

The Mix n´ Match Contest

The Countdowns

**Links in my profile (soon to be Ana Fluttersby)**


	66. Chapter 66

Good morning, loves! Thirty more chapters today, including the Epi ;)

Renewed thanks to my beta, **Breath-of-Twilight.** She´s really the best.

To **Christag Banners** for the perfect banner she created for this story :)

And to all of** you** who reads/favs/alerts this story.

**Stephenie Meyer** created the** Twilight** universe and its characters,

but they belong to all of us who love them so truly.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

**66 . Ω .**

Bella was sick the whole day. She thought it might be emotion, and considered it the most ridiculous way to get emotional. It might also be the heat. It was always the same. It rained deliciously, but when the sun warmed a little, evaporation turned life into a sauna.

At the flea market, she almost passed out, and she was much more distracted and pale than usual. She didn´t finish shopping and went back home. She needed to lie down, insomnia wasn´t helping either. She slept as if she had taken a somniferous and only woke up when Edward brought her something to eat.

She ate ravenously and went back to sleep.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

**Remember to check:**

In Plain Sight by MinaWritesSlash

A Soldier's Heart by Dawn Bowers

The Fixer by Sway in the Moonlight

QueenOfThePack (Pending)

The Experiments by Mona Rider & TwiLighT7242

The interviews with this month´s authors

The Mix n´Match Contest

The Countdowns

**Links in my profile (soon to be Ana Fluttersby)**


	67. Chapter 67

**67 . Ω .**

A few days passed and she still felt unwell. She was far from sickly and had no clue about good doctors. So she asked Jessica if she knew of any.

"That sounds like morning sickness to me, my friend," Jessica teased.

"You´re crazy! We are very careful!"

"Okay… if you say so…"

"Shit! It would be very inopportune… I… I haven´t told you my latest news. We´re getting married!"

"So, not inopportune, perfect timing! And congratulations," she said, giving her a hug.


	68. Chapter 68

**68 . Ω .**

If she thought about it, Jessica was likely right. She had never dreamed of having kids, but the possibility alone awoke maternal instincts she didn´t know she possessed. And Edward? She knew Edward would be over the moon with happiness. Knowing him as she did, she knew he would be more excited for a baby than for the wedding. Yeah… it would be perfect.

Nervous, as if she were fifteen, Bella went out and bought a couple of pregnancy tests. While doing that she could not resist looking around for baby stuff. Everything was cute and tiny, but most items were mysterious objects to which she could not bestow any function whatsoever.

Realizing how expensive everything baby related was didn´t discourage her. She really wished she was pregnant, now. She gathered that a baby would be worth the sacrifices they´d have to make, like traveling once a year, instead of two or three.


	69. Chapter 69

**69 . Ω .**

Anxious to finally know, Bella went home.

"Let it be positive, let it be positive", she chanted to herself as some kind of mantra. Never had she thought she´d desire something so much. If someone had asked her yesterday if she wanted children, she would have been honest and said she had no clue, because they were never in her life plans.

She sat in her living room waiting the allotted time, fearing her recently acquire illusions would be shattered.

When the time came, she calmly went to the bathroom; and, holding her breath and with shaky hands, she looked at the results.

She was going to be a mother.


	70. Chapter 70

**70 . Ω .**

Bella went back to the mall and bought an assortment of baby things. Bottles, tiny socks, pacifiers, some toys, and a minuscule bath tub inside of which she´d place the pregnancy tests along with a little note.

The house was dark when she returned, and gripped by a new fear, she hesitated to go in. What if Victoria hurt her? Could she hurt her and her baby?

Up until that moment, she had not considered that the baby might have been the reason behind Victoria´s reproaches.

She went to Jessica´s to tell her the good news and ask her to keep her some company, but Jess wasn´t home. She walked back home slowly, trying to be ready in case she saw Victoria.

She got her shopping bags from the car and entered the house, turning lights on wherever she passed.


	71. Chapter 71

**71 . Ω .**

With her new acquisitions, she made a trail from the front door to the room that would belong to the baby; and on the bed she placed the little aquamarine tub with the precious information inside.

She took a bath and waited for Edward, hidden to see his reaction without him feeling observed.

Soon enough, she heard his truck parking outside, his keys in the lock, and the door closing. Edward´s steps running up the stairs were in astounding synchrony with her heartbeats; she had a knot in her stomach that dissolved into butterflies only to form back reiteratively.

From her hiding place, she saw Edward storm into the room with wild eyes and a bottle in his hand. She watched him read the little note standing by the bed.

"_It was a surprise for me as well. But the greatest revelation for me, was realizing how much I want it._

_I love you,_

_Bella."_

Edward sat on the bed with teary eyes, sporting the brightest smile she had ever seen on his face to this date.

When he called for her, she emerged unhurriedly, as if out of thin air, in front of him.


	72. Chapter 72

**72 . Ω .**

A tangle of necessary yet undefined errands dominated each of Bella´s days. She, who had always been so organized, couldn´t see head or tail to her own wedding plans: Colors schemes, food, maids… maids? Flowers, photographer, church —Yes, Edward, church—, beverages, favors, invitations, witnesses, dress, video, ad infinitum.

The dress was proving to be a challenge. How was she supposed to chose one if every day she was a bigger size? She had no idea what she´d look like in a couple of months. Time wasn´t exactly her best friend.

Without Jessica´s help she would have gone crazy, because Edward wanted a fairytale wedding that she wasn´t sure they had the time or resources to arrange.


	73. Chapter 73

**73 . Ω .**

Edward, who initially had lost his natural practicality, started to put his feet back on the ground. Every single thing about the wedding —except for the prenup talks and the need to go through Confirmation— he found exciting, even more than Bella.

He remembered his sister Rosalie's wedding was filled with beautiful details, and he wanted the same for them. He bought tons of wedding magazines and an online wedding planner, and had created a complex panorama of the event in his head. But when he started inquiring about prices, he understood that bubbles would be better than butterflies, and that a Venetian Carnival wasn´t truly necessary.

After a lot of dreaming and planning an impossible wedding, he accepted a simple one.

Bella would wear an empire waist dress that would allow her to elegantly accommodate her baby bump; everything would be white and lavender, they´d serve chicken because nobody could possibly be allergic or object to that, they would supply their guests with all kinds of spirited beverages, and Bella´s best friend, Alice, had gifted them with live music.


	74. Chapter 74

**74 . Ω .**

Alice had gotten married five years before and gone to Mexico with her very Mexican husband, Jasper, where they lived like Mexicans outside their house and like Americans inside. She was a cheery and noisy person, kind of bohemian, sociable, and full of jokes who only became serious when extremely necessary.

When Bella called her to tell her she was getting married, Alice didn´t hesitate to fly back to Arizona to be with her.

So, one week before the wedding, Alice showed up at her door with her present.

"Well, my friend, here´s your gift!" Alice exclaimed waving a hand at the group.

"Alice! I didn´t think you would make it!" screeched Bella hugging her friend.


	75. Chapter 75

**75 . Ω .**

After the band´s demonstration, they sat down to catch up. They talked about the ancestral morning sickness, which really should be called whole day sickness; they talked about frustrating domestic details, work, their friends in common, and ended up, at last, talking about Victoria.

Alice had heard thousands of ghost stories because she believed she had a sixth sense of sorts and spent her free time doing tarot and palm readings, along with coffee, tea, and shells, wouldn´t, in all her life, have thought of Bella taking the spirit world seriously. She always viewed her friend´s heterodox beliefs more as curiosity and recreation than conviction. She appeared pensive for a moment, and then smiled.

"Don´t worry about that… Let´s go to Flagstaff! I´m dying for escargots!" Alice exclaimed jumping from the couch.

"Flagstaff?" Bella asked a little thrown by Alice´s sudden change of subject.

"Umhum… Cottage Place."

"I know a place here in Phoenix where they serve escargots to die for," offered Bella.

"Are you insane? There are no better escargots than Cottage´s"

"Alice, that´s almost a two hours trip!

"You´d better tell Edward you´ll be late then," Alice grinned.

Bella heaved a resigned sigh.


	76. Chapter 76

**76 . Ω .**

On the road, Alice explained that it was better not to talk in the house because chances were Victoria was paying attention to everything. According to her, Victoria was a very unconventional ghost, since the majority of spirits were either obsessed with something related to their lives and didn´t perceive the presence of the living, or they were obsessed with their deaths and were looking for help or revenge.

Victoria was obsessed with something posterior to her life that was not related to her death. Besides, she was a very strong spirit; usually manifestations were imprecise and brief, and even when they were persistent, people couldn´t usually dialogue with spirits without the help of a medium.


	77. Chapter 77

**77 . Ω .**

Victoria´s case had her intrigued. She had visited haunted houses on several occasions, and had seen a couple of interesting things, but she had never heard of such a chatty specter. The ones she had encounter so far were monothematic, apparently devoid of intelligence and any awareness of their real environment that merely made the lives of the spooked residents uncomfortable.

Victoria, however, lived in perfect chronology with the world and seemed to have matured, even if she had been a very precocious adolescent.

Bella explained to Alice that the most frustrating part of her research had been not finding any case that matched her situation.


	78. Chapter 78

**78 . Ω .**

According to everything Bella found, there were translucent ghosts that could be ugly or beautiful and were very temperamental, persistent, mocking and mischievous, and one could encounter them in old houses, cemeteries, libraries and such.

There were also those of almost human appearance, and they were talkative, exhibitionists, ill-intentioned, and they pretended to be higher beings in order to accomplish their purposes. One could find these in faraway places like beaches, churches, and creeks.

If one took elements from one and the other, Victoria could be recreated, but the fact that she couldn´t find an identical case drove her crazy.


	79. Chapter 79

**79 . Ω .**

"Oh, my friend! I wish I could help you, but this is the major leagues, I have no idea how."

"Crazy woman, don´t worry! I told you because it´s what´s going on with me, not because I expect you to solve it. Not even Father Liam was of much help."

"You went to see Father Liam?" she asked incredulously.

"I didn´t know what else to do."

"Oh, my God! What face did he make?" Alice asked with an evil smile.

"None. It was as if I had told him I bought a new fern for the terrace or something. In my opinion, he believed me yet simply refused to accept it. He told me to go to mass and pray."


	80. Chapter 80

**80 . Ω .**

"Edward doesn´t know anything, I´ve told you how he is. Now I´m afraid for my baby, and I don´t even know how to explain that to him; every time I broach the subject of Victoria, he looks at me as if he has no clue who I am. I swear, I kind of wish she would give him a good fright so he'd believe me once and for all."

"So, why don´t we have a séance so she can tell us what she really wants? And it might just be what Edward needs to see."

"Oh, I know what she wants; she wants Edward, of that I´m certain."

"Yeah, Bella, but what does she think she´ll do with him? I doubt she just wants to look at him… No, we need to know exactly what she wants."

"Come on, Alice! Edward would never participate in something like that."


	81. Chapter 81

**81 . Ω .**

That night, when Edward got home he found Bella, Alice, and Jessica lighting up incense and candles all over the living room, nothing too unusual among girls; but when Alice pulled a Ouija board out of her humongous weaved bag, Edward smirked at them before rolling his eyes.

"What? We´re invoking Vanessa´s spirit?" he mocked.

"Why? Are you scared of a little girl´s ghost?" asked Alice in the same mocking tone without stopping what she was doing.

"It´s Victoria, not Vanessa," muttered Bella.

"Why would that nonsense scare me?" he scoffed, but didn´t leave.


	82. Chapter 82

**82 . Ω .**

Edward grabbed a beer and stayed as a spectator, sitting in an armchair in a corner of the room from where he could watch.

For over an hour, they tried to communicate with Victoria, but nothing happened. So focused were they that Edward´s silence was not even noticed. They thought he had fallen asleep and that he would have missed the whole thing if something had actually happened.

They set the board aside and were settling to speculate what they had done wrong when, suddenly, Edward woke up with a yelp, dropping his almost full beer bottle at his feet. The three of them turned towards him startled and saw him crossing himself.


	83. Chapter 83

**83 . Ω .**

"What the fuck was that?" he asked out of breath.

"What?" Jessica and Alice asked in choir.

"What did you do to me?"

"Edward, what happened? Are you okay?" Bella asked with teary eyes, because the current situation and the pregnancy hormones left her constantly over emotional, and she found herself crying more often than not as of late. Jessica went to the kitchen for water, but Edward looked at it with mistrust and didn´t accept it. He stayed staring intently at a candle´s flame for a, while, taking deep, calming, breaths; and every time one of them wanted to tell him something, he lifted a finger asking for time. When he finally looked at them, he didn´t look like he had been abducted by aliens anymore, he was himself. Sort of.


	84. Chapter 84

**84 . Ω .**

Edward explained to them that, at first, he set up to have fun at their expense, sabotage their session, joking and mocking, but that he hadn´t even taken two sips of his beer when he felt a disconcertingly heavy drowsiness; he didn´t have time to ask them what was making him so sleepy because he was already asleep.

Everything became darkness, there was no shred of light anywhere, there were no scents or sensations, he couldn´t move or talk, but he could clearly hear someone crying, calling with desperate screams for Victoria, while a girl´s voice answered with drowned sobs that she was there, to please see her, that she was right there! Why were they ignoring her like that? That she was right next to them and she was scared.

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

The Voting for the Mix and Match Contest is open! Go read and vote for your favorite!

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	85. Chapter 85

**85 . Ω .**

After a series of confusing images and sounds, Edward was back in his living room, still unable to talk or move, but he could see Bella, Jessica, and Alice in their persistent ritual, apparently oblivious to Victoria mocking them from behind, as Edward had planned to do.

Suddenly, Victoria directed her gaze at him, and fascinated, she noticed him watching her, horrified. Victoria then proceeded to kiss him as she said something along the lines of him leaving Bella and coming to her, now.

He woke up, then, and saw them sitting on the couch, looking at him with shocked eyes.


	86. Chapter 86

**86 . Ω .**

"You see, now, I´m not crazy?" Bella whispered.

Edward got up and started yanking his hair in a nervous gesture Bella had never seen from him before, pacing left to right. He looked like a caged lion. He wouldn´t stop repeating that it couldn´t be, that had been predisposed; but every time he said this it was with less and less conviction. He kept this up until Alice went to him and shook him, demanding that he calmed the fuck down. She told him that Bella had been suffering through Victoria´s haunting for months and that it was ridiculous that one single sighting made him crumble like that.


	87. Chapter 87

**87 . Ω .**

Edward sat beside Bella, held her hand, and asked for her forgiveness for not believing her before. He promised that they would leave that very night, if that was what she wanted.

"Alice, Jessica could you help Bella pack a few things?"

"No," said Bella in an odd voice.

"What do you mean no?" Edward asked her flabbergasted.

"You won´t leave me here alone again! Everybody leaves, and I remain alone! My mom! My dad! Even you left, Jessica! I won´t allow it now…"

The moment Victoria stopped talking, Bella passed out. Edward laid her on the couch and asked her friends to look after her for bit and ran up the stairs. Almost at the top, Victoria appeared a couple of inches before his face; startled, he lost his balance and fell all the way down to the first step.


	88. Chapter 88

88 . Ω .

Edward heard the women screaming his name at first, but was soon enveloped by a watery darkness. He would have been able to swim out of it if he´d had any sense of direction, but there was no up or down, left or right. When he stopped fighting and was about to let himself be carried away by any of the soft currents that encircled him, he felt hands pulling him out of the black waters.

Everything was bright. He was sitting on his yard´s grass, and Victoria looked at him, smiling complacently.

"Now we´ll be together forever; it´s our destiny. When I first saw you, I knew it. I mistook you for James because I died thinking he was the love of my life, and he was. But this isn´t my life, right?" Victoria asked him wickedly.


	89. Chapter 89

**89 . Ω .**

"Where am I?" he asked, oddly calm.

"It´s not where, it´s how. You are dead."

She took him by the hand and led him to the living room where Jessica and Alice were desperately trying to get him to regain consciousness while Bella continued to be out on the couch.

"Victoria, I have to go back. Bella needs me."

"But you can´t go back. I also tried to in the beginning, but I couldn´t."

"What happened after you made me fall? What was that place?"

"I don´t know, that was new for me. I really got scared thinking that water would take you. What did you feel?" she said, not even trying to deny she made him fall.

"First, I despaired, I was so disoriented, and when I started to feel a certain amount of peace, your hands brought me here."


	90. Chapter 90

**90 . Ω .**

Edward started to walk away from Victoria.

"What are you doing," she asked curious.

"Going back to my body," he said.

"Er… yeah… I don´t recommend that. It´s horrible. Besides, look!" she said pointing to where his body was. "The black waters are still there. I bet that if you get too close they´ll swallow you back down."

"I´ll take my chances. Besides, isn´t a light supposed to be what greets you when you die? I don´t think I was so awful to deserve a current of black water."

"I don´t know what it means, really. When I died, nothing showed for me; that´s why I´m here, I guess."


	91. Chapter 91

**91 . Ω .**

Paramedics came, and Edward watched as they started getting him in an ambulance. He desperately wanted to comfort Bella who was sitting on the armchair where he had fallen asleep, crying that she had known this would happen, that Victoria didn´t rest until she killed him."

"But, Bella, Edward is not dead… Shh… Calm down, think about your baby," Alice begged.

Bella nodded and took a deep breath, while her hand immediately went to her belly.

"There. Edward will need you to help him get better," added Jessica, clumsily patting her head.

Edward looked at Victoria with hate in his eyes. She had lied to him. He wasn´t dead, maybe if he had gotten inside his body, he would be conscious by now.


	92. Chapter 92

**92 . Ω .**

"How could you?" he reproached Victoria who looked at him apprehensively.

"How was I supposed to know you weren´t dead? You fell—"

"You made me fall!" he yelled, interrupting her.

"Fine! I made you fall. But then you lost consciousness and that creepy black water appeared… what was I supposed to think?"

Without giving much thought to the consequences of what he was doing, Edward firmly took Victoria´s hand and jumped in the dark stream, and watched as her smiling face disappeared with him under the black surface.

This time, he didn´t fight it; somehow, he knew that was what he had to do. They were carried by the docile water for what seemed to be an infinite time.


	93. Chapter 93

**93 . Ω .**

Unexpectedly, there was one point of light, like a single star in the horizon. It was very tenuous, almost imperceptible, but gradually it started to acquire brightness, it became big and luminous, and they were approaching it rapidly.

That must be the light, he thought. And realized that he was indeed going to die… Bella… Bella… Bella… He felt the sharp stab of longing for her and for their baby, and peace was slow to come to him this time, but come it did.

Victoria was probably feeling peace too, now. Finally.

Gradually, the darkness that wrapped them turned into light, and they studied each other for a long while, until the light was so intense that they could not see anything and they were left in the brightest obscurity.


	94. Chapter 94

**94 . Ω .**

Abruptly, he felt Victoria grabbing him with more strength, but something snatched her from his hands. He turned every which way, with outstretched arms, looking for her, with no clue as to what could be happening.

He then heard Bella´s voice calling his name, and the current that had brought him there reversed its course and took him back to the shadows. In the same measure that the darkness around him deepened, his mind regained its clarity, and he understood that Victoria was finally where she belonged and that her soul would rest now.

Edward smiled as he continued his journey through the peaceful darkness, back to his life.


	95. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Bella adjusted the baby monitor to her satisfaction before planting the lightest of kisses on her baby´s forehead and tiptoeing out of the nursery.

She found Edward prone on the bed, his readiness made apparent by his expectant erection. Bella would have giggled if a moan hadn´t escaped her first. It had been too long.

"Come here," he said, extending his hand to her; and she obeyed.

Feeling him move inside her was transfixing. She watched his shoulders go up and down in synch with the recurring sensation of him hitting her g-spot. She tried, through the haze of pleasure, to focus on his face, because his expressions only heightened her delight, but soon she had to close her eyes as she let herself be swallowed by her orgasm with a silent scream.

Edward gasped. "Fuck, baby, fuck, fuck… that´s too good, feeling you come…" And after a few staccato thrusts, he came, too.

Sated and exhausted, they were on the brink of sleep when they heard static coming from the baby monitor, followed by a familiar cooing voice.

"Hi there, baby… you and I are going to be great friends."

_**The end**_

**ò . Я . Ω . R . ó**

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, of course.**

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**If you haven´t, go check:**

In Plain Sight by MinaWritesSlash

A Soldier's Heart by Dawn Bowers

The Fixer by Sway in the Moonlight

QueenOfThePack (Pending)

The Experiments by Mona Rider & TwiLighT7242

The interviews with this month´s authors

The Mix n´Match Contest

The Countdowns

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See you in September´s Drabble Wars as **Ana Fluttersby** when Edward and Bella fight against **The Strength of Destiny:**

They have met and had sex in multiple occasions, but they don´t know each other´s names or contact information. They are leaving it to chance.


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